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Marcus Aurelius
Dionysos
Orphic
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 The
modern Collegium Fabrorum is an organization dedicated to bettering ourselves
and the world around us. We seek after the Universal Language that unites
all people as brothers and sisters, and brings them into harmony with the Universe.
As the Collegium Fabrorum we are united in our efforts as artificers or
builders of the great temple of Truth.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is
ignorance." - Socrates
As legend informs us, the ancient Collegium Fabrorum began with the Dionysiac
Artificers and the Orphic tradition.
No one actually knows for certain whether this is an historical fact, and it has
been debated many times by historians and others. We present
the legend here for your enjoyment, and so that you can get a sense of the
spirit in which the modern Collegium Fabrorum was founded. The
discussion regarding the ancient Collegia is accurate to
the best of our knowledge. The Collegia are an historical fact and
much is known about them from the writings of the Romans. The modern
Collegium, howvever, does not practice any of the Dionysiac or Orphic
traditions. These are included here only for your reference.
"The Dionysiac Architects constituted an ancient secret society, its
principles and doctrines much like the modern Freemasonic Order. They were an
organization of builders bound together by their secret knowledge of the
relationship between the earthly and the divine sciences of architectonics.
They were supposedly employed by King Solomon in the building of his Temple,
although they were not Jews, nor did they worship the God of the Jews, being
followers of Bacchus and Dionysus. The Dionysian Architects erected many of
the great monuments of antiquity. They possessed a secret language and a
system of marking their stones. They had annual convocations and sacred
feasts." - Manly P. Hall
"They made their appearance certainly not later than 1000 B.C., and
appear to have enjoyed particular privileges and immunities. They also
possessed secret means of recognition, and were bound together by special ties
only known to themselves. The richer of this fraternity were bound to provide
for their poorer brethren. They were divided into communities, governed by a
Master and Wardens and called (connected houses). They held a grand festival
annually, and were held in high esteem. Their ceremonials were regarded as
sacred. It has been claimed that Solomon, at the instance of Hiram, King of Tyre,
employed them at his temple and palaces. There were also employed at the
construction of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. They had means of
intercommunication all over the then known world, and from them, doubtless,
sprang the guilds of the Traveling Masons known in the Middle Ages."
- John A. Weisse
"The Roman Collegia of skilled architects
were apparently a subdivision of the greater Ionian body, their principles and
organization being practically identical with the older Ionian institution. It
has been suspected that the Dionysians also profoundly influenced early
Islamic culture, for part of their symbolism found its way into the Mysteries
of the dervishes. At one time the Dionysian's referred to themselves as Sons
of Solomon, and one of the most important of their symbols was the Seal of
Solomon - two interlaced triangles. This motif is frequently seen in
conspicuous parts of Mohammedan mosques. The Knights Templars... are believed
to have contacted these Dionysian artificers and to have introduced many of
their symbols and doctrines into medieval Europe." -
Manly P. Hall
"The persons who formed a collegium,
were
called collegae or sodales.
The word collegium properly expressed the
notion of several persons being united in any office or for any common purpose; it afterwards came to signify a body of persons, and the
union which bound them together. The collegium
was the hetaireia of the Greeks." - William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.
Among the Romans collegiate associations were so old that legend attributed
their founding to Numa, the second of the traditional Roman kings, and there is
a mention of collegia in the Twelve Tables. These organizations flourished
unhampered until after the beginning of the first century B.C., during which
time some opposition began to develop among Roman law makers. In 64 B.C. they
were forbidden for a while, with the exception of a few of a religious
character, but in 58 a Clodian law once again permitted them. Julius
Caesar in his turn forbade them all, except Jewish associations of worship, on
the ground that they dabbled too much in politics. When Augustus became emperor
he espoused the cause of the collegia and caused to be adopted an imperial
statute that came to stand as the foundation of all jurisprudence having to do
with them and with similar organizations. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius was the
greatest friend the collegia ever had.
The notion of a collegium was as follows:
— A collegium or corpus,
as it was also called, must consist of three persons at least.
Persons who legally formed such an association were said corpus
habere, which is equivalent to our phrase of being incorporated; and
in later times they were said to be corporati,
and the body was called a corporatio.
While the ancient Collegium Fabrorum was formed out of the legendary Dionysiac Artificers
and the beliefs of Dionysuos, it later became closely associated with the Roman god Janus
(the god of beginnings). His name was assigned to the first month of the Roman calendar. He presided over the so-called solstitial gates, the ‘gate of men’ and the ‘gate of the gods’; i.e., the Summer and Winter
Solstices respectively. I am sure that you can tease out the zodiacal allusions and connections in this. His stolitial festivals were commemorated by the members of the
Collegium Fabrorum (the guild of artisans) whom some would regard as the Classical forerunners of the later Medieval stonemasons. These solstitial feasts of
Janus became eventually, in the Christian dispensation, the festivals of the two Saints John and the Medieval stonemasons had both Saints John as their patrons. Furthermore, in the very early days of speculative
Freemasonry lodges were known as “St. John” Lodges. Remember also that according to Cicero at least, the name
Janus has the same root as the verb ‘to initiate’, and that is what
lodges of Freemasons used to do: Initiate. In other words, they were concerned with ‘beginnings’.
The traditions of the modern Collegium Fabrorum have
come down to us through the legends of the Dionysian Artificers, Pythagoreans, and the ancient
Roman Collegia. Many of these same principles were inculcated by
the society of Freemasons of the 18th and 19th centuries through their rituals.
The modern Collegium is divided into three distinct classes: Akousmatikoi,
Mathematikoi, and Politikoi. The classes are determined
based on the knowledge and skill of the individual collega, and
distinction is attained through study, practice and dedication.. (All members are known
as collega)
"Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in
the consciousness that we deserve them." - Aristotle
Collegae begin the process by seeking admission for a
period of time in which their dedication to the Collegium is determined.
If they are found to be of a serious disposition towards the Collegium then they are
allowed to be received as an Akousmatikos, and are appointed a Politikos
under which to study. As their level of knowledge and skill progress they
are received as a Mathematikos, and are allowed to study the deeper
aspects of the system. When, and if, their Politikos finds their
knowledge and skill to be the same as his, then they are allowed to be received
as a Politikos, and can take their own Akousmatikoi.
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